{"title":"Intimacy with robots - the future?","description":"Relationships can be complicated, they are the agony and ecstasy of life. Could there be a pain free solution? New research, carried out to celebrate the launch ofdystopian robot drama Westworld on NO...","keywords":"","type":"website","site_name":"Sino","section":"","pubdate":"2017-08-23 12:51:00","lastmod":"2017-08-23 14:17:51","url":"","author":"Reuben Pinder","image":"","social_title":"Is it cheating to have intimate relations with a robot? www.sino.uk investigates robo-bonking","keyword":"Sino, radio, news, breaking, london, pandas"}

Intimacy with robots - the future?

Relationships can be complicated, they are the agony and ecstasy of life. Could there be a pain free solution? New research, carried out to celebrate the launch of dystopian robot drama Westworld on NOW TV, shows that a third of people asked would be open to having intimate relations with a robot. It is also thought that relationships with robots will be considered totally normal by 2050.

Almost half of Brits claim they would feel less guilty living out their darkest desires and most taboo fantasies with a robot as opposed to a human. Close to a third would consider having a sexual encounter with a robot if it looked and acted exactly like a human and two fifths would not consider this cheating on their current partner.

Some people believe there would be many benefits, such as the fact that the robots wouldn't age and they would do whatever you wanted without arguing back. Loyalty is an important aspect for people too, with a third mentioning that a robot would never be unfaithful and never betray you.

Obviously, this is an ethical minefield. Many believe that human ethics shouldn't apply, but half of Brits were in favour of an ethical code for human-like robots. Four fifths also agree that it would be morally wrong to harm an artificially intelligent robot.